South African avocado shippers are seeing new export opportunities emerging in Asia.
Japan offers the most immediate opportunities thanks to its developed avocado market, and the fact that South Africa can offer counter-seasonal supply to complement imports from other countries, shippers told Fruitnet.
South Africa is expected to export a record crop of avocados this year, and bigger yields mean more exporter eyes are likely to look East.
But Westfalia’s Zach Bard said in the longer-term, opportunities in China and India will have to be developed in order to make real progress in Asia.
“There is a lot of work ahead of us to develop these markets,” he said. “For one, South Africa does not have access to China yet for avocados, and one knows how long solving this kind of problem can take.”
